Peppermint shrimp?

[fshfrk58]

Has anyone ever heard or seen peppermint shrimp eating corals. I believe these are not camel shrimp either. They are almost translucent and their body lines run parallel with their bodies. But the reason I ask is this morning I noticed my birds nest coral was completely white and one of the shrimp was all over it. Any thoughts?

 

[thincat]

The birdsnest may just be closed up due to the shrimp irritating it by climbing all over it. I have heard of peppers going after Zoas though.

 

[fshfrk58]

Even if it is completely white?

 

[melosu58]

I agree with TC. It`s probably iritating the coral. IME they should not eat your corals.

 

[fshfrk58]

Well it looks like it's completely bleached and every polyp on it is gone! I will leave it in there and continue to check it but it don't look good.

 

[melosu58]

I see on your info it`s a 55 gallon tank. What kind of lighting do you have? Also what are your water parameters including calcium?

 

[HN1]

In addition to Mike's questions... only the blenny and clown in there as far as fish? How long have you had the BN?

 

[fshfrk58]

Calcium looks to be close to 450 and the this is a 12 gal nano cube and there are no fish in that tank. The birds nest has been in there for about 4 months. It was doing great till I put them shrimp in there. I realize that PC lights are not the best for SPS corals but it was doing better than when he was in the 55 gal tank with T5's over it.

 

[ryshark]

If it is completely white and you have algae starting to grow on it, then I think it would be safe to say it is dead. I highly doubt peppermint shrimp killed the birdsnest. Is it a wild colony birdsnest?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Agree with ryshark. Even if it WAS the peppermint, I can't imagine it "eating" all the polyps overnight. And even if it did, it wouldn't be completely white that quick. I've heard of peppermints snacking on zoanthids, but never witnessed it. And I've had peppermints.

How quick did it bleach and die? I'd be more apt to look toward a quick shift in water parameters as the culprit.

 

[fshfrk58]

This BN was only a frag, probably 2-3 inches tall with 6 branches on it. It was became completely bleached in one night. I noticed two of my other hard corals that were hitchhikers are gone as well. And I did witness the shrimp picking at them too. I do have a small colony of zoanthids, 1 toadstool leather, pulsing xenia, green star polyp, 1 coco worm, candycane coral, assorted mushrooms, and yellow polyps that are all thriving in the tank. Water parameters are all within range. I removed the shrimp and we will see what happens. Thanks for all your replies.

 

[ryshark]

This BN was only a frag, probably 2-3 inches tall with 6 branches on it. It was became completely bleached in one night. I noticed two of my other hard corals that were hitchhikers are gone as well. And I did witness the shrimp picking at them too. I do have a small colony of zoanthids, 1 toadstool leather, pulsing xenia, green star polyp, 1 coco worm, candycane coral, assorted mushrooms, and yellow polyps that are all thriving in the tank. Water parameters are all within range. I removed the shrimp and we will see what happens. Thanks for all your replies.

What is your ALK and how stable is it? Was that birdsnest downstream/next to the toadstool leather?